Champagne BomBeat 40

[mmcodomino]

After three years it is finally complete. I still have to pinch myself that this long restoration has finally come to its end.

Here is a quick reminder of what it used to look like:

Thanks to some great members here all parts could be found even though many repair attempts went to nothing but dead ends.
Anyhow, it is fully working again and looks pretty presentable.
Probably the rarest one in my collection now.

And here it is:

 

[blu_fuz]

What was missing, a switch cap and the trim panel around the cassette keys?

Loooooking gooooood!

 

[mmcodomino]

What was missing, a switch cap and the trim panel around the cassette keys?

Loooooking gooooood!

Thanks

Basically it was missing a mic cover, the tape deck keys trim and a switch cap.
The top trim was completely dented and the tuner glass was cracked badly.
Function wise nothing was working. Someone had soldered an AC cord to it, the tuner was completely dead, the tape deck had a loud humming noise and so did line in. I also believe the motor was dead or rusted...anyhow it was not spinning at a constant speed.
The back case had chips broken out of it, one antenna was missing.
Oh, and some of the tape keys were broken off.
I got some matching Toshiba cassette keys and a set of knobs from Geoff who removed them from a donor box he bought in Japan.
Thomas (CookieClassic) spent hours trying to fix the circuitry and it turned out the main board was badly cracked around the function switch and some printed resistors were probably damaged in the tuner area. We tried bridging some broken connections without any luck.
Then I got a parts box from India but it turned out to be in much worse condition than I thought so basically all those parts were unusable. Looked like it came out of a sewer.
Finally, another BB40 showed up in okay condition which could substitute almost all the missing parts and the electronics. Anyhow, I had to replace the tape head mechanism because the one that was in there had a piece of plastic broken off so the heads would not engage anymore. I personally think the BB40 deck is very poorly designed and has a lot of components that can permanently fail or fall out of place like some springs that are crucial for proper operation.
Anyhow, the curse has been broken and I still have to digest the fact that this longest restoration I have ever experienced is finally over.

 

[Northerner]

Congrats, it sure is a rare one

 

[T-STER]

Wooow that is super nice! i bet it feels so good to have it complete and working

 

[jimmyjimmy19702010]

You’ve certainly been to hell and back in restoring this one!! Many would have probably given up around the time your parts ‘Indian sewer’ box turned up but you perceivered and have ended up with a super rare grail that we all now lust after!!

Well done and congrats!!

James.....

 

[mmcodomino]

You’ve certainly been to hell and back in restoring this one!! Many would have probably given up around the time your parts ‘Indian sewer’ box turned up but you perceivered and have ended up with a super rare grail that we all now lust after!!

Well done and congrats!!

James.....

That sewer box really was something It even turned on but that was it...no radio, no line in, nothing....the PCB was covered in dried mud that had corroded most of the traces on there. I guess the switches and potentiometers could be refurbished but all the cosmetic parts - forget about it. All that it was able to donate to the final result was the tuner glass that needed a good hour of polishing
Anyhow, luckily it was not that expensive. Shipping was the biggest expense...and customs of course.
Once I have all the remaining spare parts together I will see if I can offer them up as a project box. Maybe someone can build some custom electronics inside it.

 

[Styleking]

Great looking box Max!

 

[metalhandbag]

Looking good Max.

 

[Fatdog]

That's a true labor of love right there. It's beautiful, Max!

 

[MyOhMy]

That's what I'd call a Superb result. It's difficult to imagine the enormous amount of work involved when the finished BB is seen but it's all there, somewhere, as is the sweat, patience, frustrations and PRIDE.

 

[deech]

I think this is the epitome of your collection Max.
You have so many rarities now !
Congratulations for fixing this one after so many years.
Patience always pays off.

Cant help it but think of dear old member Litfan when i see this exact model.
The only other person that had one .
Rumours are that there is another one of those in Germany as he sold it to RadioHier.

By the way Have a nice meeting you GUYS IN Germany this coming weekend.

 

[SLO]

What a beauty Max, it came out really good bro, DIBS haha

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

So much work to bring a real unicorn out of hiding. Nice work Max

 

[vermouth]

That is absolutely incredible. Really nice attention to detail. I'd love to see more pictures if you have them. Close ups of the hardware, etc.

 

[Blasterpunk]

Nice job, Max!

 

[Transistorized]

Not sure what it is but all vintage boxes seem to look better in a gold color. I like